Melodie at Hogwarts
by voiceofangels
Summary: Melodie Baxter is in her fourth year at Hogwarts. She has a crush on Harry Potter, but something, or someone, starts to get in the way.
1. The Hogwarts Express

_Another lonely day on the train to Hogwarts_, Melodie Baxter thought to herself. The ride was never truly long, as she passed it reading her books, or practising her magic.

Melodie doesn't have many friends, but she never speaks out or does anything that attracts much attention, so no one ever notices her. In school, she tries to stay to herself a lot, avoiding anyone she can. It's not that she isn't nice; she's just very shy and doesn't really want to make any friends. But she does spend most of her time in the library or in her dormitory reading, studying, or practising.

She's also quite stunning. Not beautiful like a model, but just simply stunning. Her straight sandy blonde hair reached down to her shoulders, and her dark brown eyes stood out among her fair, but somewhat pale, skin. No matter how much people tell her she's pretty, she still doesn't think so, but no matter how unattractive she thinks she is she still chooses not to wear makeup.

Today, she had her wand out and was reading _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Four_ for the second time and practising some basic spells. She's quite the intelligent one, the times when she does her homework anyways.

She was in the middle of a shrinking charm when the compartment door slid open. She looked up and saw Draco Malfoy staring at her from the open door.

"Mind if we join you?" he asked rather politely. He was still staring at her; why, she didn't know and didn't care.

"Sure," she said and watched as Draco, and his two goons, Crabbe and Goyle settled themselves into the compartment.

"So you go to Hogwarts? I've never seen you around school before. What house are you in?" He asked.

Well, Melodie already knew which house _he_ was in. She hated the Slytherin house. Most, if not all of the Slytherins, are really mean; especially to those who don't deserve it. Draco could be the head of the Slytherin house. He sure acts like he is. Remembering that he asked her a question, she answered, "Slytherin."

Yes, Melodie was in Slytherin. She doesn't know why the Sorting Hat put her in there though. She wasn't even pure blooded. She was half muggle on her mother's side. She doesn't have any of the characteristics that fit the Slytherin profile. But the Hat put her there, so she's stuck with it.

"You're in Slytherin! Then why haven't I seen you around before?" Draco asked incredulously.

While wondering why this was such a big deal, she said, "I dunno. I'm not usually around. That, and I'm a year below you."

"Huh," was his only reply. She turned her head towards Crabbe and Goyle only to see them shrug. She didn't know why she was looking to them for an answer, seeing as they wouldn't know the difference between a square cake and a brick. Only that one was edible and the other wasn't.

She was about to go back to her reading when Draco started speaking again. "So you've got Care of Magical Creatures this year right?"

She put down her book, knowing that there was a reason for him to bring this up. "Yes, I do."

"Heh, good luck with that," he said. He put his hands behind his head and rested his head back on them.

She looked at him curiously. "Why?"

Raising an eyebrow at her, he said, "You _do_ know who the teacher is, right?"

"Yeah, I do. Is there a problem with the teacher?" She knew exactly what he was going to say before he said it.

"Is there a problem with? The teacher is Hagrid! The great big half-giant that lives in that hut he calls a home." His voice lowered a little and she knew he was going to go into his Why-Hagrid-should-be-expelled speech. She was growing pretty tired of those. "He almost killed me last year with that bloody Hippogriff. And he did have a dragon on the school grounds another few years back. He was even sent to Azkaban in my second year."

Melodie rolled her eyes as he finished. "I may not have been around, but I'm not stupid and I am in Slytherin. Everyone knows that last year, that Hippogriff didn't do as much damage to you as you were showing off to the rest of the school." _Mainly just to Harry Potter_, she thought to herself. "And Hagrid was only sent to Azkaban that year because of something that wasn't even his fault years ago. And your father was the one that sent him there."

A smug look appeared on his face. "Yeah, that was real great. Rather enjoyed that actually. Remember that, you two?" He asked Crabbe and Goyle. All he got for replies was a grunt from Goyle and a nod from Crabbe.

At that point, the lunch trolley came around. Crabbe and Goyle, as expected, bought about a pound of food each. I settled on a Cauldron Cake, a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and a couple of chocolate frogs. Draco just sat there and waited for the trolley to leave.

Being the generous girl that Melodie was, she offered Draco some of the jellybeans. He hesitated and then grabbed a few from the box and popped one into his mouth. Shortly after he spat it out. "Yuck! That was disgusting!"

She had to laugh a little. It's always interesting to watch someone eat one of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. You never knew if they were going to eat it, spit it out, or have some other completely different reaction to it.

"You think that's funny do you?" He asked.

"Yes," she replied, laughing just a little from the memory. "But you'd be laughing too if it'd happened to me. What flavour was it?"

"I suppose that's true. It tasted like fish scales." He looked at her. "Now that I've been put through this it's your turn to try."

"Fine." She reached into the box and pulled out a red one. "Hmm, my favourite colour." She popped in into her mouth, while watching Draco watching her. She sighed, "And my favourite flavour too." Draco's eyebrows rose. "Cinnamon."

"Ah."

The next few minutes were pretty quiet. She took out her book again and Draco got up. "Crabbe. Goyle." They obeyed and stood up ready to leave. "Um, I'm gonna go around the train and talk to some people," he said to Melodie.

"Go right ahead," she said, not taking her eyes away from the book. It's not like she cared. Actually, she would rather have the compartment to herself.

The door slid shut, but only remained for a second before Draco pulled it open again. "I didn't get your name."

She sighed at the interruption, yet again. This time she took her eyes off the book to answer him. "Melodie. Melodie Baxter."

"Nice to have met you Melodie."

"You can call me Mel if you like."

"Alright, Mel. I'm Draco Malfoy by the way."

"I know who you are, thanks."

"Oh," his eyes lit up a little as if her knowing who he was made him famous or something. "Um, I'll be back later."

Not really wanting him to stick around any longer she said, "Okay. Take as long as you need to." He smiled before shutting the door again.

"Finally, some time to myself," Mel said to herself, before opening her book once again and staying absorbed in it until the end of the train ride. If Draco returned, she never noticed.


	2. The Great Hall

The Great Hall was as beautiful as always. The ceiling was enchanted to look like the sky as it was outside. Today, it was velvety black and covered with sparkling stars.

Melodie headed for the Slytherin table and sat down at an available spot. The dishes, glasses and utensils were sparkling and ready for use.

"There you are Mel," a familiar voice said behind her. She turned around and saw Draco standing behind her with a smile on his face.

"Hey Draco," she said uninterested, but then her eyes widened. He actually looks kinda good-looking in his school robes. He sat down beside her and Crabbe and Goyle sat beside him.

"You were really into the book, and I didn't want to bother you on the train."

"Oh, um, thanks. But I already read it. I was just going through it for the second time."

"I see," he said. Someone called his name and asked him how his summer went and he got into that conversation for a bit.

Then Harry Potter entered the Great Hall. Draco seemed to notice this before anyone else. "Hey Potter, how was your summer? Heard you almost got expelled! How'd you manage to get outta that one?"

Harry glared at him for a few moments before his friend, Hermione, pushed him forward. Draco has this excessive need to torment Harry and his friends. Mel would prefer to become friends with them to being their enemies. She doesn't want to say it, but she has a rather big crush on Harry. If anyone in the Slytherin house ever found out, she would never hear the end of it.

"I can't believe Dumbledore got him out of another one. Potter should have been out of this school a long time ago." Draco stated, and the Slytherins that were listening agreed with him.

This is where Mel is different from the rest of the Slytherins. She doesn't understand why there has to be this constant vendetta against Harry. She's never known Harry to do anything horrible, except maybe save the world from an evil power. Actually, that's precisely the reason why all the Slytherins hate him. They would rather have Voldemort alive, powerful, and ruling over all mankind right now. _The Slytherins can sure be stupid_, Mel thought to herself.

"Don't you agree with me, Mel?"

"Huh?" Mel shook out of her thoughts and saw Draco staring at her. "Sorry, what was that?"

"I said wouldn't you agree that this school would be better off without Dumbledore?"

_Now he's moved on to Dumbledore_. "Ah, sure. Yeah we would be a lot better off," Mel said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"See, even Mel thinks Dumbledore should be sacked," he said and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. _I guess he didn't get the sarcasm_. Mel looked around the table and say Pansy Parkinson staring at her coldly. _I always thought she had a thing for Draco, but I thought that was just me. I guess I was wrong. But let's try something just to make sure._ Mel moved just an inch closer to Draco, and Pansy's expression changed from a cold stare to a small look of jealousy. _That was interesting_. But as nice as it was to annoy Pansy, Mel really didn't want to be in Draco's arms right now, so she sort of half shrugged and half lifted his arm off of her.

At that moment, silence slowly started to creep around the Great Hall. The Sorting Hat was placed on the stool and the Hat started to sing its song. At the end of it, whispers erupted throughout the Hall, for the Hat had told of a warning. If the Houses did not unite and work together, we would be doomed. But silence quickly overtook the Hall again as Professor McGonagall started to list off the names of the first years.

At the end of that, the feast began. And what a great feast it was. The dinner was fabulous and dessert was better than ever filled with all sorts of cakes, pasties, and all other sorts of foods, many of which Mel chose not to take.

The dishes were cleared and Dumbledore went through the rules. Then, finally, they were able to go to their dormitories.

The entrance to the Slytherin Dormitories is in the dungeons. Mel rather likes it down there. It's never too bright and in the summer it's the coldest place in the school. Of course in the winter it's freezing, but that can be fixed with a fire. Mel walked up to the portrait that served as the entrance to the Slytherin dormitories and said the new password, "Shrivelfig." The portrait opened and revealed the Slytherin Common Room. There were couches, chairs and tables spread amongst the room, used for studying or just lounging. The room was decorated with the Slytherin colours, green and black. Mel preferred her quiet bed to all the noise that always exists in the common room.

So, deciding to go to bed she headed up to her dormitory. It was empty, probably, she guessed, because everyone was celebrating the start of another school year. _Oh, well,_ she thought, _at least I'll have this place to myself for a little while._ She took out a book from her trunk and plopped herself on her bed ready to read.

She fell asleep after the third page.


End file.
